When must you stop for a school bus in Illinois or Missouri? Here’s how state laws vary
Do you know when you have to stop for a school bus in Illinois or when traveling in Missouri?
The Illinois State Police reports the majority of children who are injured or killed in student transportation are hurt outside of the school bus. Child fatalities due to motorists passing stopped school buses have been reported in Indiana, Kansas and other states.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers a guide on reducing the illegal passing of school buses. The NHTSA guide reports all 50 states have laws making it illegal for motorists to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload students with its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended.
Here’s what to know about Illinois and Missouri laws on stopping for school buses. The requirements vary by state, as do the penalties.
When to stop for a school bus in Illinois
In Illinois, requirements for when drivers must stop for a school bus depend on the direction of traffic flow and sometimes the number of lanes.
When traveling a four-lane road with at least two lanes of traffic traveling in the opposite direction, lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction as the school bus must stop, according to the Illinois State Police. Students are not required to cross four or more lanes of traffic to get home, ISP adds.
If a school bus is traveling a two-lane road and is stopped to pick up or drop off students, vehicles in all lanes of traffic must stop. Drivers should stop at least 20 feet before reaching the school bus.
When a school bus is traveling a one-way road, all lanes of traffic must stop regardless of how many there are.
“The majority of children injured or killed in pupil transportation are not injured or killed on the school bus, but outside the bus,” the ISP School Bus Safety document says. “Most of them are struck by motorists who fail to stop for the flashing red lights and extended stop arm.”
The area around a school bus is often referred to as the “death zone,” ISP says.
Drivers may proceed after stopping if the bus resumes motion, the bus driver signals the motorist to proceed or if the flashing lights are turned off and the stop-arm signal is no longer extended.
The penalty for illegally passing an Illinois school bus is a minimum fine of $300 and a three-month driver’s license suspension, ISP reports. A second or subsequent offense within five years carries a minimum fine of $1,000 and one years’ suspension of driving privileges.
When to stop for a school bus in Missouri
In Missouri, a driver traveling in any direction must stop for a school bus when the bus signals a stop and wait until it resumes motion. While Illinois law can require students to cross up to three lanes of traffic, Missouri law limits it to two lanes on a four-lane highway.
When driving on a highway with separate roadways, a motorist does not need to stop upon meeting or overtaking a school bus when the bus is:
On a different roadway
Traveling in the opposite direction on a highway with four or more traffic lanes, or
Stopped in a loading zone that is part of or adjacent to a limited or controlled access highway at a point where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway
Illegally passing a school bus in Missouri may result in a Class A misdemeanor and a 90-day driver’s license suspension for a first offense. Subsequent offenses may carry a 120-day license suspension. If a violation results in the injury or death of a child, a class E or class D felony may be issued.
